Chapter Thirty-Six: The Restless "Shiryu" (Asking for Recommendation Votes, Seeking Monthly Votes)

That day, Buffon was thoroughly drunk by Whitebeard, and it was only with great difficulty that he managed to slip off the Moby Dick the next day and sneak back to his own ship.

At the prow of the ship, several of Whitebeard’s commanders watched Buffon’s departing vessel and joked, “That Buffon is truly a strange fellow. If I ever meet him again, I must ask him to fix this tattoo for me!” It was Squad Four Captain Thatch who spoke.

Had Buffon heard this, he’d surely have complained, “You should have said so earlier, mate! It’s just a tattoo touch-up—if you wanted a full skin graft, I’d be willing!”

On his return journey, Buffon stood at the bow, his expression grave.

Though he’d been treated like a favored guest aboard Whitebeard’s ship these past two days, only he knew the terrifying strength possessed by that man and his subordinates. Whitebeard needed no mention, but even Flower Sword Vista had, with casual ease, sliced into dozens a gigantic sea king that Mueller had hauled from the sea.

Buffon estimated that if he’d tried the same, it would have been far more difficult.

With that in mind, Buffon said seriously to Sauro, “Sauro, you need to work hard. Once we return, catch up on all those decades you’ve fallen behind, and do it as quickly as possible.”

“Aye, Captain!” Sauro replied earnestly.

Buffon had analyzed the situation: his greatest weakness wasn’t a lack of power or raw strength, but rather experience in battle.

“Don’t let me down, Shadow of Shiryu,” Buffon murmured to himself.

A week later, after nearly two months at sea, Buffon finally returned.

At the dock, his three oddball companions wept tears of joy as they welcomed him.

Perona exclaimed, “Hooray, hooray, hooray! Buffon, you’re finally back! My toys are broken again—if you hadn’t returned, I wouldn’t have trusted Doctor Hogback’s handiwork!”

Hogback said, “Buffon, you’re finally back! No matter how I stitch those new zombies, something always feels off. I’ve been waiting for you!”

Absalom chimed in, “Buffon, you’re finally back! That wild boar Lola has been pestering me day and night. This time, you must help me modify myself so I can move faster and stop getting caught by that marriage maniac!”

Buffon nodded, then introduced, “This is Sauro. From now on, he’ll be my assistant.”

His tone remained cold, his words concise and to the point.

Hogback glanced at Sauro, prodded his calf with a beast-like paw, and asked suspiciously, “Alive?”

Sauro retorted without hesitation, “Are you an egg?”

Hogback gasped, “You—how did you know?”

Miss Sindri, standing nearby, said with a straight face, “Anyone could tell.”

As the group joked and bantered, Buffon’s Den Den Mushi suddenly rang.

“Keeheeheehee! Buffon, come to the banquet hall at once! I’ve waited for you so long. Let’s witness the fusion of Shiryu’s shadow and the Celestial Dragon’s zombie and see what kind of powerful warrior is born!”

Buffon grunted in acknowledgment, hung up, and ordered Ryuma to take Sauro to his room, then headed alone to the banquet hall.

Upon arrival, Buffon saw that Moria had already opened the coffin containing Rosinante’s corpse and was holding Shiryu’s shadow, ready in his hand.

He was just waiting for Buffon to arrive to complete this historic feat.

Buffon nodded to him, then shifted his gaze to Rosinante’s body.

“Keeheeheehee! I’m going to begin!”

With that, Moria stuffed Shiryu’s shadow into Rosinante’s zombie.

Yet the scene they had anticipated did not occur—the corpse remained unchanged.

“Maybe it’s been separated from the body too long. The shadow might need some time to recover,” Moria said uncertainly.

He’d never tried storing a shadow in the shadow box for such a long period before, hence his doubt.

Buffon simply shook his head, said nothing, and went to the banquet hall’s cabinet to fetch a cigar and light it.

At the instant the cigar’s smoke curled into the air, Rosinante’s body moved. With a speed that defied the eye, it dashed forward, snatched the cigar from Buffon’s hand and clenched it between its teeth, then leapt straight out the window!

Moria stared in a daze at the broken glass, then asked, “Shall I help you catch him?”

Buffon shook his head. “No need. With Ryuma around, he won’t make any trouble.”

Moria nodded, then continued, “After you returned, I had the zombie army build you a separate research lab, near the inland sea. All the facilities are ready, and there’s even a small dock. From now on, you can do all your stitching work there, no need to squeeze in with that idle Hogback.”

Buffon was more than satisfied with this arrangement—after all, with his own territory, he didn’t have to hide his strength so much. Still, he gave no verbal thanks, just nodded in agreement.

…

Half an hour later, with the help of Spider Mouse, Buffon and Ryuma found the runaway “Shiryu” atop the outermost wall of Thriller Bark.

As Buffon approached, the creature turned its head mechanically and sneered, “Pirate, it’s impossible to erase the will of my shadow!”

With that, it threw a punch at Buffon.

Buffon knew it was still in its adaptation period—the shadow retained Shiryu’s fighting habits. This was actually ideal; letting the shadow’s instincts take over would give Buffon better training in combat.

“Let’s see whether you disappoint me.”

Buffon didn’t use Haki or Iron Body—just his own strength, he threw a punch to meet Baggio’s left fist.

He thought to himself, “Clever—knows the left arm is stronger!”

The collision of their fists sent a massive shockwave, splitting the sea below the wall.

Buffon was secretly amazed. No wonder this was the arm of an Emperor. He hadn’t dared hold back, yet his full-strength blow could only fight to a standstill.

“Pirate! Not bad! To survive a round with me, Shiryu, you—”

Before it could finish, Buffon unleashed his full power, Armament Haki covering his body, and his right fist crashed into it, driving it deep into the wall.

Buffon withdrew his hand, brushed the dust from his glove, and said to Ryuma, “Take him back to the lab. His skeletal strength isn’t enough—we need to reinforce it.”

At that moment, Sauro piped up, “That’s the corpse of Sengoku’s foster son?”

Buffon nodded. “And the shadow inside is Shiryu’s.”

Sauro drew a sharp breath and said in a chilly tone, “You’ve basically created a complete Marine zombie!”

Buffon didn’t deny it. Instead, he turned and asked, “You’ve fought Aokiji. How do you think this one measures up?”

Sauro considered carefully before answering, “That zombie’s strength is a little less than half of Kuzan’s. As for you, Captain Buffon, you’re a little more than half.”